CJ CheilJedang said on the 27th that it held the "2026 Cuisine. K DOTS Day (2026 Cuisine K Dots Day)" event on the 26th at Cave House, a multi-cultural space in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
Marking its second year, "Dots Day" is an annual networking event that supports the growth and exchange of young chefs. The name comes from the initials of "Draw Opportunities and Take the Start," reflecting Cuisine K's ambition to map the possibilities of Korean cuisine and open a new beginning. Cuisine K is CJ CheilJedang's project to discover and develop talent in Korean cuisine.
About 150 people, including young chefs who took part in the Cuisine K project, 1st to 3rd class alumni chefs, and industry officials, attended the event, along with Lee Sun-ho, head of CJ's Future Planning Group, for a time of communication and networking.
The event also introduced Cuisine K's operating system as a "K-food talent development platform." Cuisine K defines a chef's career roadmap as a "challenge-growth-expansion" structure and supports the entire career of up-and-coming chefs through customized programs for each stage.
In the "challenge" stage, young chefs are trained to build fundamentals in Korean cuisine through master classes, Korean fine dining practice (K Starju), and cooking competitions. In the "growth" stage, it provides practice-centered experience such as operating popup restaurants, and in the "expansion" stage, it is running programs that broaden Cuisine K's sphere of activity around the world.
CJ CheilJedang said Cuisine K last year successfully completed a Hong Kong popup restaurant, cooking classes in three European countries (the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain), and cooking competitions in the United Kingdom and Indonesia, concretizing new possibilities for the expansion of Korean cuisine in harmony with local food cultures.
Starting this year, Cuisine K will fully operate the Korean cuisine research and development program "Cuisine K Salon," establishing a foundation for young chefs to study Korea's unique food culture and build professional capabilities. It also plans to present popups and showcases in collaboration with Korean cuisine chefs working overseas through the new "Korean Chef Series" program. Global cooking classes that can maximize synergies between K-food and K-content are also being prepared.